Sore feet with just removed shoes, what to do?

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painted ponies

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I am not riding my horse out on the road anywhere as much as I used to maybe once a week so I had his back shoes pulled. He was fine to begin with but about 2/3 weeks after he has started to get a little more sensitive, he is fine in the school and on a hard level surface but you have to go over gravel to get anywhere off the main yard and his feet are a little warm. What to do with him?

Persevere and wait until his feet harden and grow a little more,
Put his hinds back on (really dont want to have to do this as im poor and he does tend to have good feet)
Should I box rest him (again really dont like doing this as his back legs do go a little puffy), If they were out at the minute I would just turn him away for a month, but we are on clay and it rains lots in Wales.
Would keratex hoof hardener help?
What should I do with the warm feet? If I soak them in ice water would that not soften them.

Thanks for any help
 
amymay said:
Pop his hinds back on.
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Exactly this - or of course you could leave him in pain until his feet might possibly have "grown out of it".

Some horses cope fine having been used to shoes and then having them removed others don't. Maybe yours would be fine in time but if he's in pain now do you really want him to continue like that in the hope he will be fine.
 
If its only during ridden work you are having problems then you could try a pair of hoof boots. I always get mine 2nd hand off eBay so much cheaper. Alternatively his hind shoes could go back on. Shoeless is often harder work and more about management ( often management isn't realistically changeable for lots of reasons) and shoes tend to be easier but more expensive. He should not be in pain. He either needs to not do what causes the pain or be booted or shod.
 
As a guess the hinds might be warm because the shoes have been removed? Bare/unshod feet tend to be slightly warmer than shod feet.

As to what to do, i wouldn't want to advise but am willing to bump this thread up in the hope some more people see it. :)

Trina x
 
painted ponies said:
I am not riding my horse out on the road anywhere as much as I used to maybe once a week so I had his back shoes pulled. He was fine to begin with but about 2/3 weeks after he has started to get a little more sensitive, he is fine in the school and on a hard level surface but you have to go over gravel to get anywhere off the main yard and his feet are a little warm. What to do with him?

Persevere and wait until his feet harden and grow a little more,
Put his hinds back on (really dont want to have to do this as im poor and he does tend to have good feet)
Should I box rest him (again really dont like doing this as his back legs do go a little puffy), If they were out at the minute I would just turn him away for a month, but we are on clay and it rains lots in Wales.
Would keratex hoof hardener help?
What should I do with the warm feet? If I soak them in ice water would that not soften them.

Thanks for any help
Click to expand...

What do you feed him? Hard feed? Hay/haylage? Supplements? What's his turnout regime? :)
 
I'd use hoof boots when riding for the time being, you can't have him in pain. In the mean time take a look at his diet, make sure starchy and sugary feeds are cut, he should be fed using fibre only. Increase hay, and decrease hard feed.

You could also start hardening his feet up, take him out on hard, smooth ground such as roads in walk for short periods. Eventually he'll be able to cope with harder ground, but don't let him suffer in the mean time. I've got two of mine unshod all round, one was box rested, and the other a youngster and he hasn't needed them. They're both coping very well on all ground, but i've had a diet overhaul this year and they're all fed fibre only now. My horse has just been turned away for winter and his shoes will be being pulled off. I'd like to leave all four off when he comes back into work, but that will depend on how he copes.

Good Luck. :)
 
You need to check his diet as that cab influence how sensitive the hooves are. Buy a copy of "Feet First" for a realy good guide to going barefoot.
 
If you want to try and keep him without the back shoes I would check his diet for sugar levels and perhaps put him on magnesium etc.

I swear by Keretex hoof hardener as well.

If cutting sugar/hoof hardener etc doesn't improve him I would probably put shoes back on after a few more weeks as I am not anti-shoes.

He may be better trying without shoes again when you are hacking more as tarmac is great for improving bare feet in my experience.
 
I had my boy's hind shoes taken off a year ago because he kept standing on himself pulling them off, he has funny action and after trying various types of shoes the farrier suggested trying this option.

At first he was footy on stony ground for a month or so. Then we had the snow last winter so he didnt get ridden much. He was more surefooted in the snow than his shod mate! His feet were warm but that is due to the increased blood flow. I bought him some Boa boots so I could ride him on the roads comfortably. I also had to alter his feed to reduce sugar intake which helped.

A year on and he is sound behind and moving well. His hooves have altered shape due to his action but farrier is happy. I put the hoofboots on him when we road hack for over an hour to keep him comfy. Becasue they have only been used once or twice a week the boots are still in good shape 8 months since I got them, so not a bad buy. I will expect to replace them at some point though.
 
I'm not sure if I've understood the OP properly... the only issue the horse is having is that when he walks over gravel, his feet are a bit warm? Is he actually footy or sore, or just has warm feet?

I think I'm right in saying bare feet are usually warmer than shod feet, and I don't think all that many horses are perfect without shoes immediately. I'd try hoof boots for a while, until he gets used to it. If it's only been a couple of weeks I wouldn't go straight for putting shoes back on... remember his feet have been used to being shod for (probably) quite a long time. You wouldn't be able to walk over gravel straight away if you decided not to wear shoes.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. He is just sore when on unlevel hard surface ie gravel. He is not on overly high starch diet, balancer 1kg, alfa 500g, hay almost ad lib and grass when it is dry enough for them to go out (its wales and we are on clay so not too much). When I went out today his hinds are not as hot as they were.

I think i will preserver until the farrier is due and make a decision then,
 
Persevere - dont go banging nails into slightly sore feet :eek:

He needs an adjustment period - ideally you wouldve longlined him 10 mins at a time and built this up gradually over a few weeks then ridden. Tis the equivalent of me asking you to piggy back me to the next village and back in barefeet having not got you used to it first!

His diet wants to be as sugar free as humanly possible. Now is the best time to remove shoes as sugars in grass are lower and weather restrictions mean less riding generally so ideal to build him up for next year.

In the interim hoofboots would stop him being ouchy and help develop a healthy hoof - they dont need replacing every 6-8 weeks so cheaper in the long run than shoes.

You never know you might take the front ones off and become one of the barefoot taliban ;)
 
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